Biological fluids and other types of medical waste often must be collected during surgery or other medical procedures. This is typically accomplished using a suction canister where a suction port on the canister lid is connected to a source of vacuum or suction via a hose or line. As a result, a vacuum is drawn on the interior of the canister. A second hose or line is connected to a patient port on the canister lid and is used to collect medical waste in the form of fluids and solids from the patient, which is stored in the canister.
After collection, the medical waste, and contaminated collection components, such as canister lids, canisters and the like, must be disposed of in accordance with rules and regulations imposed by various government and regulatory organizations. Such medical waste is called “red bag waste” and the associated procedures for disposal may be quite costly. As a result, it is desirable to limit the number of components that must be disposed of as red bag waste.
In view of the above, medical waste disposal systems and methods have been developed where a reusable medical waste collection canister is drained, rinsed and disinfected after a medical procedure, thereby eliminating red bag waste. An example of such a system is provided in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,588,436 and 6,776,175, both to Dunn et al., the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
While the systems of the Dunn et al. '436 and '175 patents perform well, in certain situations it may be more economical to use a disposable canister instead of a reusable canister. For example, a disposable canister avoids the equipment, time and cost required to sanitize reusable canisters. As noted above, however, a disposable canister that is contaminated with medical waste after use must be disposed of as red bag waste, which is undesirable. A need therefore exists for a disposable canister liner that is easy to use and that may be drained and rinsed of any bio-burden after use and then disposed of as “white bag waste.”